Miscellaneous.

1. I have long resisted the Firefox, because I'm one of those jerks who refuses to do what "everybody's doing" because what "everybody" does is usually a poor fit for me. However, for a couple reasons, I decided to download Firefox tonight, and holy cows, I can't believe I didn't do this sooner. So much better than IE, for so many reasons. (I still like IE - and will be forced to use it at work. But I think I will not at home much again.)

2. This. Fucking. Insane. Chicago. Weather. Is. Driving. Me. CRAZY. Seriously, 40 degrees, -10 degrees, 50 degrees, 2 degrees. How the fuck is a normal human body supposed to deal with these kinds of temperature shifts so quickly?! I feel like a human barometer! [/END RANT]

3. I started reading these books last weekend, and flew through them really quickly, because they're just that damn fun. I mean, ghosts, demons, the devil, vampires, and plasma guns!!! What the hell isn't to like? Seriously, if you like slightly sci-fi-flavored urban fantasy, and can handle a little bit of whiny-ness in a heroine...I recommend.

4. This set of maps (via TreeHugger) is really interesting. I especially like the "sustainable commerce" section, that looks at population density and installed renewable energy resources. The "Industrial Pollutants" map was also noteworthy. Really instructive - in terms of showing us how scary it is out there.